By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER
Associated Press Writer

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Kyle Orton threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to John Standeford with three minutes remaining to rally Purdue past Michigan State 45-42 in a seesaw game Saturday.

Orton, who came off the bench to lead the Boilermakers to a 24-14 win over Michigan State a year ago in West Lafayette, Ind., replaced starter Brandon Kirsch on fourth-and-8 and threw the winning score. Kirsch was knocked out on a hard hit by Mike Labinjo.

Orton connected with Taylor Stubblefield on the 2-point conversion for the final margin.

Michigan State (4-7, 2-5 Big Ten) advanced past midfield on its next possession but turned the ball over on downs with 1:13 to go.

Kirsch ran for 125 yards and a touchdown and threw for a pair of scores. It was the seventh time a Purdue quarterback ran for 100 yards and the first since 1992. Kirsch also completed 13 of 25 passes for 208 yards, but two of his four interceptions were returned for touchdowns by Thomas Wright and DeMario Suggs.

The Boilermakers (5-6, 3-4), known for their passing, dominated on the ground. They gained 307 yards on 66 attempts and finished with 555 yards of total offense.

A win next week against Indiana will make Purdue bowl-eligible for the sixth straight year.

The loss ended the Spartans' hopes of a postseason berth. Saturday's game was the second for interim head coach Morris Watts, who took over for the fired Bobby Williams and led the Spartans to a 56-21 win over Indiana last week.

David Richard put the Spartans ahead 42-37 on a 10-yard run with 7:43 left. The 2-point conversion failed.

The Boilermakers went ahead 37-36 on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Kirsch to Anthony Chambers on a fourth-down play with 11:11 remaining in the game.

The extra point, which was pushed back because of a personal foul penalty on Purdue, was no good.

The Spartans took a 36-31 lead when Wright intercepted Kirsch's pass and returned it 57 yards for a score. The 2-point conversion attempt failed.

Purdue went ahead 31-23 when Jerod Void's 1-yard touchdown plunge capped a 15-play, 77-yard drive at 2:18 of the third.

Michigan State drew to 31-30 when Charles Rogers caught a 65-yard TD pass from Damon Dowdell with 1:59 remaining in the third. Rogers finished with eight catches for 161 yards and two scores.

The Boilermakers took a 24-17 lead into halftime. Standeford finished with five catches for 136 yards and went over the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the season.

The Boilermakers scored the game's first touchdown when Joey Harris raced around right end, stiff-armed Wright and made his way into the end zone for a 24-yard score in the first quarter, putting Purdue ahead 7-3.